The weekly baby pictures have been getting a little monotonous, so Kate graciously agreed to help out with this week’s shot. Here, SteelyKid is showing off her ability to “stand,” like a big girl: (She’s not really standing, but this is one of her new things. She enjoys being held upright in a standing position,… Continue reading Thursday Baby Blogging 120408
If Wishes Were Horses We’d All Be Eatin’ Steak
There’s a kind of tradition in theoretical physics of wacky “what if” papers. The whole “wormhole” thing is an example of this in action– somebody noticed that the structure of General Relativity would allow you to make tunnel-like structures between points in space, and then asked what you would need to make such a structure.… Continue reading If Wishes Were Horses We’d All Be Eatin’ Steak
A Beautiful Theory, Impervious to Ugly Facts
Via Matt Yglesias, another example of why I have a hard time taking economists seriously, talking about a measure of stock prices: [T]he “Q” ratio [is] the value of the stock market relative to the replacement cost of net assets. The basic logic behind “Q” is that capitalism works. If the “Q” is above 1.0,… Continue reading A Beautiful Theory, Impervious to Ugly Facts
links for 2008-12-04
Back to Reality – Olivia Judson Blog – NYTimes.com "President-elect Obama already has a long to-do list. But here’s another item for it: to restore science in government." (tags: science politics us blogs) Built on Facts : Gas in a (very small) box. Air is denser than you think. (tags: science atoms physics blogs education)… Continue reading links for 2008-12-04
Science: 3.8% Notable
Last year, around this time, I posted a rant about the lack of science books in the New York Times‘s “Notable Books of 2007.” While I was out of town last week, they posted this year’s list. So, have things improved? Yes and no. They do, in fact, have two books that are unquestionably science… Continue reading Science: 3.8% Notable
Hey to Uganda
One of our 2008 Physics majors is currently in Uganda, working at a clinic/ school in a place called Ddegaya (Google doesn’t recognize it, but it’s somewhere around here). He’s there as part of a program started by the college last year, which sent eight students abroad to work in impoverished areas, and then come… Continue reading Hey to Uganda
Gun Safety Notes
The Daily Show nails the lessons of the Plaxico Burress fiasco: The Daily Show With Jon StewartM – Th 11p / 10c Jon Stewart Touches Kids – Plaxico Burress Barack Obama InterviewJohn McCain Interview Sarah Palin VideoFunny Election Video Sweatpants, for God’s sake.
links for 2008-12-03
A Blog Around The Clock : The Open Laboratory 2008 – all the submissions fit to print Some light reading to fill your infinite free time. (tags: science blogs writing) Pay Bankers Much Less – Finance Blog – Felix Salmon – Market Movers – Portfolio.com "I’ve now reached the point at which I simply don’t… Continue reading links for 2008-12-03
Baby Einstein
SteelyKid is a genius in training. How can I say that so confidently? Well, just look at this: Still not convinced? Well, check out the original. I rest my case.
Re-Reading Tolkien at Tor
A while back, Kate started doing a chapter-by-chapter re-read of The Lord of the Rings on her LiveJournal. Life intervened, though, and the project fell by the wayside. She’s re-started it, this time as part of the Tor media empire. So far, there’s an introductory post and a discussion of the foreword and prologue, with… Continue reading Re-Reading Tolkien at Tor